"HungryPanda alleges blackmail, intimidation amid dispute with delivery riders", 27 February 2026

The dispute between HungryPanda and some of its riders has taken another twist, with the food delivery company accusing some workers of intimidation and blackmail and saying it contacted Chinese police to complain about their conduct in Australia.

… the ABC revealed that in early February some HungryPanda riders in Sydney were called by police in China who warned them not to take part in industrial activity as part of their campaign for better wages and conditions.

HungryPanda remains adamant that it did not contact Chinese police ahead of those phone calls and that it did not ask Chinese authorities to stop riders from taking action against the company.

But it says it did resort to contacting Chinese authorities later, …, after Australian police allegedly failed to take action against riders waging a "coordinated campaign of Blackmail, Intimidation, and Threats of Violence" on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat.

The dispute centres on the push by some delivery riders to stop work ahead of Lunar New Year — when HungryPanda typically sees a surge in orders — as part of a campaign to pressure the company to improve wages and conditions.

After the ABC published its story …, HungryPanda's Australia representative Tina Sun accused some of the delivery riders organising the protest action of threatening other riders who did not want to stop work.

Ms Sun shared screenshots from a WeChat group that appear to show some workers discussing plans to target and intimidate riders who decided not to join the action.

In one screenshot, a member of the group urges other riders to "go to different places like Waterloo, Mascot, KF see who's still delivering".

A message posted by another member calling themselves "Steven Jobs" says "You guys communicate on the time. Some can go out to the streets to watch who's delivering orders."…

… Hungry Panda sent the ABC its statement to the police, which said that it wanted to report "a coordinated campaign of Blackmail, Intimidation, and Threats of Violence against delivery workers in Sydney".

"We have positively identified the ringleaders who are organising groups to slash tires, cut e-bike electrical wires, and assault riders who attempt to work," the statement said.

"They are photographing and recording law-abiding riders to create a "target list" for retaliation."

But HungryPanda's spokesperson Kitty Lu said police refused to take action, saying they could not investigate the complaints unless the alleged victims came forward in person to make a report.

She said the police officer on duty also "joked" that the company could get the WeChat accounts banned.

Ms Sun said she decided to contact WeChat and Chinese police after she returned from the police station and learned that HungryPanda riders had been targeted, with one allegedly having the wire on his electric bike cut and another having food stolen while delivering another order…